Category: Canada

That Globe Feature on Data Gaps

The big longread event in this weekend’s papers was, without question, Shannon Gormley’s piece in Macleans on the Thai Cave Rescue (if you haven’t read it yet, stop everything and do so.  I’ll be here when you get back.  Amazing, right?  OK, let’s move on.) Anyways, the second most important longread was the big Globe and Mail feature on Canada’s data gaps, which was actually two pieces, one on data gaps generally and one specifically on Statistics Canada and why the agency is not very good.  There was much applause in the

Read More »

College Finance Data, 2016-17

A few months ago, I promised you all an update on college finances when Statscan finally got around to updating its FINCOL tables.  Well, that day is here. Unlike universities, which have seen their budgets grow in real terms by about 25% over the last decade, growth in college budgets has been a lot slower – only about 14% – and nearly all that growth has come from student fees, since government support has been essentially flat.  In total, college

Read More »

Measuring Social Mobility in Higher Education

It is a universally acknowledged truth that while nearly every higher education policy maker in the world is required to discuss The Imperative of Accessibility, almost no one defines or measures it.  Because God forbid access policies, especially Canadian policies, be informed by evidence. It’s not like it’s impossible to do.  In the UK, the University and College Application Service simply analyses the postal codes of applicants and students and use that to track changes over time.  Are student entry rates

Read More »

Canada’s International Education Strategy Mark II

Tucked away almost unnoticed on page 67 of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Fiscal Update last week was a fascinating little statement: “To build more skills and provide training that will help support Canada’s international trade and increase global ties, Global Affairs Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada will work together to develop a new international education strategy.” What should we make of this? The initial impression made by this phrasing is not very good.  Sure, it makes sense that within the Government

Read More »

Re-litigating New Brunswick’s Tax Credits

Note: A version of this post appeared in the Telegraph-Journal (paywall applies) To Fredericton, where the new Conservative Government had its Throne Speech on Tuesday.  The key line for post-secondary education (which, for the most part, was ignored) was this one:  Your government will undertake an evidence-based review of existing programs supporting post-secondary education and compare and contrast their effectiveness with the canceled broad-based tax credits.  (nb. the tax credits were cut to create a Targeted Free Tuition program, described here among other

Read More »